Hilbay’s ‘bomb’ wrecks the Amboys!

MY column here last week was entitled “New Amboy Explosive Stunt Coming” anticipating the usual 2016 July 12 PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) decision favoring the Noynoy government pre-anniversary ‘bomb’ the discredited Justice Antonio Carpio and company would drop on the Philippine political and media setting – but the bomb turned out to be from their own ranks against themselves.

Former Solicitor General Forin Hilbay reacted to a column of Justice Antonio Carpio in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated July 1, 2021 entitled “Aquino and the arbitration against China” describing the factionalism of the “Samar” and the “Balay” group within the Aquino administration with one faction in favor of arbitration and the other against.

The passing of Noynoy Aquino (under still mysterious circumstances I must say) now allows his minions to come out in the open with the secrets from the inner sanctum of the last Aquino administration, and Hilbay’s bomb was one and probably the most important bomb that finally blast to smithereens the myth of the Aquino government’s “patriotic” challenge to China in the SCS.

Hilbay, the nominal and official head of Noynoy’s arbitration legal team, accuses Carpio of puffing up his role when Carpio was just an “observer” who inserted himself through the support of then Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, and that Carpio “dismissed concerns over a proposed joint development between China and the Philippines” which made him suspect Carpio was for a “deal” with China.

Carpio in his July 8, 2021 column reacted by denouncing Hilbay’s opposition to raising the Itu Aba (occupied by Taiwan) subject and issuing instructions to the legal team accordingly, to which Carpio claimed to replay to saying “If you do that I will fight you in public. I will go around the country and denounce you.” But eventually Hilbay turned out to be correct on the issue.

The arbitration panel defined Itu Aba as a “rock” and said: “None of the high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Italics mine), in their natural condition, are capable of sustaining human habitation or economic life of their own within the meaning of Article 121(3) of the Convention.” The Pagasa islands in the Spratly’s which generates Philippine EEZ became just a group of “rocks” too unable to generate 200NM EEZ.

One of the paid hacks of the Del Rosario-Carpio clique, Marites Danguilan-Vitug wrote in 2016 one week after the PCA ruling that Hilbay:

“…had clear misgivings about the inclusion of Itu Aba… His main argument was: a decision by the arbitral tribunal recognizing Itu Aba as an island would be in China’s favor because it would entitle Beijing to an EEZ… overlap with the Philippines’ EEZ in Palawan… This overlap could mean that the arbitral tribunal would have no jurisdiction over the Philippines’ claim and boost China’s position.”

Vitug also reported that “Secretary Leila de Lima who relayed to Aquino the concerns about Itu Aba… arranged a meeting with then Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Jardeleza, who reportedly said the inclusion of Itu Aba would offend China (Italics mine) and that there really was no need to include it since it would just delay arbitral proceedings.”

After all the vituperations both factions are now revealed to be actually for a “deal” with China. So why are they so vehemently opposed to President Duterte’s signing of the oil and gas joint venture with President Xi Jinping during his 2018 Manila state visit?

What was all the insulting of China and Duterte by Noynoy’s two factions for all these past five years? Because they didn’t get the deal for themselves?

President Duterte and China have been on the right track all along. Cooperation brings the Win-Win solution, the Chinese always like to say.

Now, Pres. Duterte has to make the right next move and engage China government-to-government in the oil and gas deal, exclude the Salim and all other private groups so the Filipino win this one and not the oligarchs.

(Samahan si Ka Mentong Laurel at mga panauhin sa “Power Thinks” tuwing Miyerkules @6pm Live Global Talk News Radio (GTNR) sa Facebook at sa Talk News TV sa You Tube; at tuwing Linggo 8 to 10am sa RP1 738khz AM sa radyo).